Transitioning from Associates CIS to Bachelor's CS

Question

I realize there are a bunch of questions regarding CIS vs CS degrees, but I didn't really find anything relating to my specific situation.

I am in the middle of my second year of an Associates Degree in CIS. Before this, I had a year at a small university that didn't go well at all, for a variety of reasons (distance from home, underestimation of academic difficulty, etc). But at the school I'm attending now, things have gone much better. I have a 3.5 GPA, and in some ways, at least for the first year, I was bored because of how much easier stuff was from before, and wondering if I was capable of a little more.

I've been thinking a lot lately about if a CS degree would serve me better. My main focus with the Associates CIS degree is programming classes. At this point, since I am almost done, and will be thinking about internships soon, I would not want to throw away what I have started.

So I guess my main question/concern is what kind of outlook I would have for going onto a bachelors degree in Computer Science after having an Associates in CIS. Would anything transfer, and would some schools completely frown on the CIS degree?

Or would it just be better to end up with a good internship/job and advance my career with just experience?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Answer 1

I went through a similar situation in college. I actually got my Associates in CS at a community college, but then transferred to a university to finish my bachelors in CS, and ended up finishing in MIS(probably the equivalent of your CIS).

Anyways, long story short, your ability lies in your motivation. If you are doing well in programming classes in a CIS degree, you will do fine in a CS program if you are motivated and willing to put in the hard work. Also, DO NOT settle for your Associates, you really do need a bachelors degree in CS or what they call related field(MIS/CIS). A lot of your credits may not transfer, in fact most of my programming classes didn't transfer because they were not Java :P ...but the extra programming I had to take only made me a better programmer in the long run. Also, don't just settle with what you learn in school. Try to build programs yourself at home, experiment with new languages, ideas, etc...

The main question for you to ask yourself is: Do you want to be a programmer? Can you see yourself writing code all day every day? If the answer is yes, then go for it!!

For most programmer applicant screening, especially entry level(even with an internship) a bachelors in a technical field is mandatory.

Answer 2

Regarding your first question what units transfer depends on the university. Some classes will transfer, while others won't. Keep in mind that non-related coursework is more likely to transfer -- most universities are particular about coursework considered "core" to the degree. You may have to take some sort of equivalency/competency exam for CS related classes to transfer.

Regarding your second question, it depends. Some employers put emphasis on getting a degree at a good school while others stress experience and being able to hit the ground running. Without experience or references, some companies use degrees in the vetting process.

Ultimately, it's up to you -- a CS degree at a good university can expose you to ideas and concepts which you won't necessarily have access to in a day job. However, if you already know what kind of work you want to do and you have the fortune of getting a job in that discipline, you may think it a waste of time.

I'm sure you'll hear quite a few different points of view in the responses here.

In either case, good luck.

Answer 3

First, realize: not all CS degrees are created equal. It depends largely on if you're looking for a "real" CS degree at a "real" CS institution, like University of Illinois, Standford, UT, Cornell, CMU, etc, or if you're looking for a "programmer's degree".

I have two "real" computer science degrees from a couple of the above schools, but what you have to realize is the things you learn there aren't the same that you learn with a CIS-type degree. You're not learning functional, on-the-job skills; you're learning the theory, math, and science behind computing.

Whether that type of knowledge is useful to you or not depends on what you ultimately want to do. If you want to do systems/OS programming, scientific programming, work for Google, compiler development, etc, then a "real" computer science degree would be the thing to go for. If you are looking to be a more typical software developer, then you might consider finding a bachelor's in CIS or CS program that is more focused in that directly. A classical CS degree would be highly useful in any programming position, but may not be the best choice for your career path depending on your ultimate goals and educational aptitude. Either way, I highly recommend you get your four year degree...not just for your career, but for your personal growth.